Do you think the Pharisees are trying to protect Jesus here? Me either. My guess is they are trying to set their own trap for him. Jesus tells them he will leave when he is ready. After all, his whole life is being orchestrated by God himself. Jesus is heading toward Jerusalem, but in his own time.
Jerusalem was the spiritual and political capital of the region, a city of God, the hub of the nation. It was a destination for many believers. It was also the death sentence location for many prophets over the years. There’s a bit of foreshadowing going on when Jesus declared, “For it wouldn’t do for a prophet of God to be killed except in Jerusalem!” Here, he is calling himself a prophet, or putting himself in that category, because of who people believed him to be.
The Kingdom of God. Have you ever truly fathomed what this is? Is it heaven? Is it where God reigns? Jesus wants to make it clear to us, but do these parables help? Let’s unpack them a little.
Jesus is always surprising us and acting “outside the box” of what was expected of a religious leader at that time. But Jesus was more than a religious leader, he was “Lord.” The religious leaders of the time were so caught up in tradition and rules made around the commands of God, they forgot how to be human.
People are born, they live, and then they die. How and when we die is not something we can predict. Jesus brings up two situations where people were tragically killed, perhaps “before” their time. Many times we see people die today in car accidents, from disease when young, or other disastrous circumstances. Do we ever ask ourselves, “were they more of a sinner than me?” I hope not.
When you think of Jesus, I’m sure many different pictures come to mind. The healer, the teacher, the Savior, the friend, to name just a few. Today’s reading may give you a different sense, but he’s calling it as it is. He is the divider.
